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Now That He's Screwed Us For the 58th Time...

Welcome to Hope n' Change 2.0!

In the face of a collapsing economy, rampant unemployment, and global instability, Barack Hussein Obama took office in 2008 promising Hope and Change. The "Hope" thing didn't really work out, but we got plenty of "Change" as everything got worse. And now, the jug-eared jackass has a second term.

That's why at Hope n' Change Cartoons, we're creating conservative smartaleckry to provide a little laughter in these strange times. Cartoons will probably be posted Monday and Wednesday, and definitely on Friday. Additionally, cartoons and graphics will be posted randomly on our Facebook page and Friday we'll add the week's postings right here to kick around in one of the greatest comments sections on the Web.Note: please feel free to repost our cartoons on your favorite blogs!

Need Free Stock Footage or Music?

Friday, August 30, 2013

Just a few quick words of explanation; my family is still very much embroiled in a health issue which takes a lot of time and demands a positive attitude - which is somewhat harder to maintain when I'm keeping a close eye on the ever-depressing news and worrying about what Obamacare is about to do to my family. Without lube.

And while the work I do on Hope n' Change is satisfying and is maybe even developing a little reach, I've got to weigh whether it's the best use of my time and energies right now when it comes to my family - especially as I might be able to turn that time and energy into entrepreneurial profit-making ventures (which, in its own way, is a good way to piss off Obama!)

I haven't made up my mind - I'm just buying myself a little time to think. I can already tell you that my voice and perspective won't be silenced and I won't disappear. And I can also tell you that the camaraderie and wise voices (decidedly not my own) on this site mean the world to me. Hope n' Change has become a community that I wish more conservatives would listen to, for wisdom, moderation, and humor. And you wonderful folks lift my spirits on a daily basis.

SOoooo, let's look at this as a short "Labor Day" vacation during which I can gather my thoughts and sort my priorities. And maybe grill some hotdogs and have a cold beer beneath the soothing, healing shade of an American flag. -Stilton

Stilton, my habit for special occasions is to offer my prayer to God at the point in the Sunday Mass when the priest lifts up the consecrated Host, which we Catholics believe is the True Presence. I will remember you and your family at that time this Sunday.

We love you and your contributions to helping up keep our sanity and for the all-important confirmation this site lends in letting us know we are know alone. But you must do what is right for you and your family. Know that we are out here somewhere in cyberspace praying for your family whether you rejoin us here at Hope n' Change or not. We'll keep checking back with optimism in our hearts. God bless the Jarlsberg family.

BIG dittos to what all have said here. A "progressive" mind would say that you are being selfish and you MUST carry on for the good of the collective. Us Hope'n'Changers know that you are actually excercising your freedom to choose your path, as a US citizen; something that we can still do (for now anyway!). I hope to see you back at it, but fully understand that you must absolutely put you and your family first.Rick (Colby) Bafford

HnC is my first stop on a daily basis, and YES it is a wonderful community you have gathered here (with the exception of the occasional troll droppings). I devour the comics, commentary and the comments, as together it forms a well-balanced diet of food for thought and encouragement during these trying times.

Stilton. I don't contribute much here but I have to say you are my three times a week oasis from the madness. Also, your incisive observations seem to attract some of the best comments on the web. Obviously you gotta do what you gotta do and prayers for the best outcome.

"There are only twenty-four hours in a day. One can only do so much in a day. Even if you CAN take on another task, IF it takes time away from something more important (including time for yourself)then you DON'T have the time for it.

Sir, I appreciate your time here, but you must take the time for yourself and your family.

I haven't been much of a commenter lately, here or anywhere else - sort of lost my mojo after the election. I Hoped the various blogs I participated in would really make a Change in getting the message out at the grassroots level. But the Democrats have a solid 47% floor of support - that's a force that is hard to overcome. My recent lack of commenting does not mean I haven't been reading though.

In some respects, I think blogs have trended downward. Not saying they will disappear, just that things get more diffused as time passes on. One of the blogs that I frequented (a conservative blog that had 3-5 posts a day, average 100+ comments per post) shut down on it's 10th anniversary. For awhile Althouse shut down the comments section - comments have reopened but you can tell that the blog is a shell of itself. Those are but two examples.

As you consider what direction to take, I would offer some suggestions (I hope other commenters also make suggestions too).

1) Your cartoons are the best & posts supporting the cartoons are always spot on. I think most of your followers could live with less commentary in the spirit of reducing your workload. Perhaps a few links to the articles that inspired your cartoon. If readers are having problems with the meaning, jump in to explain in the comments or insert an update. Note that the cartoons you find on the editorial page don't have any explanation - the cartoon stands on it's own.

2) You don't have to do cartoons with every post to keep this blog community alive. We are all interested in whatever motivates you to do a particular cartoon - if doing a cartoon and commentary doesn't fit into your priorities, at a minimum post links to your favorite articles of the day that you want us to be aware of. Then let the commenters run with the topics. If the site gets infested with trolls you might need to take some actions (like delete) but I get the feeling most of the regular commenters are quite capable of squashing trolls on their own.

3) Most of the blogs I follow at some point develop partners to carry the load - i.e, The Other McCain, Legal Insurrection.

Sorry for the lengthy post - if I kept going I'm sure I would come up with more options. Just don't want to see you lose your "top of mind" status. Personally, if I may ask, do you have some German heritage or ancestors? I am & I come from an area of the country that was settled by Germans. We laugh about things being "German Built" - over engineered, over built. We joke about brick shithouses that could survive a nuclear blast. Or mailbox posts that could take out a car unfortunate to hit it. This blog has that "German built" quality - well designed cartoons & a solid foundation of commentary backing them. Either that, or you are some kind of perfectionist freak.

As you consider the future of this blog, don't underestimate that your followers will continue to appreciate a dialed down version. No matter what, your family and livelihood comes first. Thanks for everything!

As always @Stilton, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

I don't think most people appreciate the time and effort that it takes to produce a quality near-daily blog, especially a worthwhile-to-read successful one. Very few make any meaningful money, and even fewer enough that one can actually feed themselves on, much less a family. (I'd love to, but I know I'm not clever enough to be worth reading 3 or more times a week, and Mrs. Econ would not be impressed)

Remember when Nancy Pelosi said "Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance." I'm pretty sure she didn't have you in mind anyway, so it's just as well that didn't work out.

We commend you and your efforts here on our behalf. (We also know there are more than a few influential people who read it as well) But we also know that you have bigger priorities than our amusement at this moment. No matter what happens, just let me say "Thank you" for your efforts on ours, and America's behalf.

As with the others here, I do wish you well and have enjoyed your cerebral toons and tomes for YEARS now! That is quite an accomplishment! As alam markus said, no toon is required, no commentary is required, crap, just type in big letters.."OBAMA SUCKS", that's good enough. Nothing lasts forever,...except a term for a democrat president of course! Best wishes!

"And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Don’t just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn’t do it any better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are." - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Speaking at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.

Stilton, There is no way anyone can put a number on he countless times you have lifted our spirits and said what "needed to be said". Your voice speaks for many. Our prayers are with you and your family. Whatever decision you make will be right for you. Take care my friend and May God Bless.

Conscience - do your self a favor and consider education. Or at least learn how to use spell and grammar check. If you expect to be taken seriously, it's useful if you don't come off as a 6 year old w/ a mental speech impediment. (note - not to belittle those w/ mental or physical impairments - I well recall when the president said he bowled like a Special Olympian, and the SO Champion bowler offered to come over and coach him, proving that he was not only a better athlete, but a better person as well). At any rate, just a little food for thought, assuming there's enough slack in your atrophied dendrites to accommodate such activity. Also, NICE display of classic leftist sympathy for those having difficulty - that which you cannot control, you attempt to denigrate and destroy. Such compassion does your cause proud. Stay Classy!

Stilt, as far as the long weekend off, I'll toast you often as I raise a few over the next few days - to your health, and a long term resolution of your family situation. Other than that - "Uh, Whut dey sed..." All good wishes, etc, etc..

Stilton, your Hope n' Change cartoons, along with Chris Muir's Day By Day, are two of my daily stops on the intarwebs. So, here's hoping that the health issues become manageable, then disappear, and you can continue with your somewhat different (and justly irreverent) look at Barak the Bastard, King of America, Healer of the Planet, Keeper of the Mom Jeans, Shooter of the Skeet.

Stilton--God bless you and yours. You have truly been a beacon of light in this dark liberal world. I can't even remember now how I learned of your awesome blog, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it for years now and have recommended it to many friends and associates. It is such a bright spot in the week. So no matter what you decide, you need to know that many, many people have been appreciative of what you have done for us all these years. You are amazing! As has been stated previously, please do whatever is best for you and your family. We are all pulling for a happily ever after! Take care and enjoy the holiday weekend. Fly your flag proudly! We are all pulling for the Jarlsberg family.

Hoping and praying for your family situation to resolve well. As we struggle daily to se a bright spot in the future, your expression of your insight is a constant refreshment. Just knowing someone else realizes the depth of the mess we are in has it's own assurances.Thanks for both of the blogs.

You're an amazing comedic talent. Perhaps your site could showcase new talent as a placeholder until you return? What I'm saying is, please, please return! And my prayers for you, your family, and any new endeavors you might have in mind!

Back in the 1990s the Internet was all text. In order to make your online status available someone could "put the finger on you" as they used to say in old detective stories. Using the finger program would give your status and send an optional profile message. A couple of guys decided they could take every website on Earth and put it into their profile message. Soon the list went from a 5k text file to a 10k text file and keep getting bigger. But instead of saying, "Sorry everyone this is too much work, you'll have to find your information elsewhere" they continued and formed a company. Today that company is Yahoo!. I know this because I used to get that text file from using finger on Yahoo! and watched them turn into one of the biggest Internet companies on Earth.

You have to make your own decisions about what you want to do, but if you're getting discouraged, don't. Pour your energy into what you're doing and know someday you'll look back from on high and be astonished how far you've come.

Stilton - you have kept my spirits up through the past few years, when humor was the only way to make any sense of the craziness that is going on around us. I'm lifting you and your family up in prayer to the Great Physician for restoration and healing. May God bless you, whatever you decide to do, and know we're all behind you 100%!

I JUST discovered Hn'C a few weeks back and it has become a welcome daily visit. For selfish reasons, I hope you continue...but this isn't about me. I pray that your situation has a positive outcome. Do whatever YOU need to do in the meantime. God Bless!

[fingers crossed] Oh, please, oh, please, oh please, don't go away!!! You, and the wonderful comments here, are the few sane voices in an ever maddening world. I need you all! And always remember, nothing lasts forever. Bad people eventually go away. They always "get theirs" because God is still very in the world.

Anwyay ..

That said, I do totally understand. I had to pare posting so much back too. Maybe have fellow commentors help? CoonTasty, WMD, Colby, Negron99, John The Econ, etc. would all make excellent commentary. PLEASE KNOW that we all care about you and your family whatever you decide.

Prayers and happy thoughts for y'all. Hope everyone has a very good weekend.

For the Usual Suspects: while SJ is having his much needed break, I suggest you all check out the FaceBook page "Libtards", by Dixon Diaz.Mr. Diaz is a prolific creator of satirical anti-liberal content and I think most H'nC readers will enjoy his work.

Perhaps SJ might even consider teaming up with Dixon Diaz at some point? It would be a brilliant partnership, IMO.

Stilton,I have been in management off and on since 1970, and if there is some way you can "manage" this blog by delegating aspects of it to some trusted people it may "lighten the load" and even develop others to be better at communicating wisdom as YOU do! Think of it like Mychal Massie and Dan Bubalo collaborating on his "Daily Rant". Please consider this rather than putting the kibosh on this blog, we really appreciate you, (and pray for you and yours daily).

@Readers- I can't thank you enough for all of the supportive posts and good ideas - and please keep them coming! There are a lot of interesting options to consider: a different publishing schedule, bringing others aboard to share the load, or maybe just building a template with no characters other than Obama and Johnny Optimism, in which Johnny could point out Barry's flaws and lies while Lance the dog growls. All I'd need to do is change the word balloons three times a week - and I could use the cartoons on BOTH of my websites! Sweet!

On a more serious note, your prayers and support mean a great deal to me and my family. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not personally religious - but I must admit that my family had a pretty good day today. So whatever you're doing, please keep it up.

Finally, you may have noticed one "deleted" comment from someone (I can't imagine who) calling himself Stilton Jarlsberg's Conscience. It's about what you'd expect: elation at my family's problems, calls for me to kill myself, and liberal (literally) use of the word "nigger" - which is why I nuked it.

But if you'd like to read it, you can do so right here. It seemed to me that nuking it entirely would only help this abysmal miscreant hide his true nature from the world. If anyone wants to crawl inside the Liberal mind to see what it looks like, go ahead and follow the link.

I'll continue reading and thinking about all the comments you're posting, even if I don't have time to answer as often as I'd like.

To the Jarlsberg Family: May you have: A world of wishes at your command. God and his angels close to hand. Friends and family their love to impart, and Irish blessings deep in your heart!

May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night,and the road downhill all the way to your door.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, and may good luck pursue you each morning and night.

May your blessings outnumber the Shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

May you enjoy the four greatest blessings:Honest work to occupy you.A hearty appetite to sustain you.A good woman to love you.And a wink from the God above.

May you live a long life, full of gladness and health. With a pocket full of gold, as the least of your wealth.

May the dreams you hold dearest, be those which come true. The kindness you spread, keep returning to you.

May the friendships you make, be those which endure; and all of your grey clouds, be small ones for sure.

And trusting in Him, to Whom we all pray; May a song fill your heart, every step of the way.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

My thoughts and Prayers are of you, and for you, and your family. Each time 'pop a top' this weekend, I'll make a toast to you and yours. Enjoy your suds and wieners,(NOT that kind, you perv!), and whatever your plans are; we are ALL here to support you. Bless you and yours my friend. David

@Stilton ~ Gosh, I'm glad you nuked the abysmal miscreant (good name for the misguided soul, by the way). He or she sounds too much like my adopted father. He was a vile, hateful, bitter, name calling, violently dangerous man. I only got a few words into the written rant and begged off. I had enough of that talk when I was growing up. (Another piece of the puzzle ... right?) Well, there's always someone like that and I don't think any of us feel that way about you or anyone else here. You're not mean or hateful at all. 'Least I don't take it that way and I'm an expert on 'hate speech' (as the Libtards call it).

Still praying for you and your family. Even though you don't believe in Him, He believes in you. (insert virtual hug here) <-- :)

GROUP HUG!! This is a really wonderful comment community. Bask in the beauty of what you have created here, Stilt!

Glad to hear you will be considering the various great ideas suggested for continuing the endeavor in a new way. In the meantime, rest up as best you can. And I second the suggestion to stay away from the news as much as possible. (I am not really one to talk, there, as I have trouble staying away from it myself and end up yelling several times a day...)

@Readers- An ironic little sidenote; I just checked the readership stats here, and yesterday the blog got its 3 millionth page view. Mind you, that's a cumulative total over 4+ years... but it's still a nice round number.

Stilt: You got a bear with you?Hope it's the variety that likes to snack on Bris(ke)t.On another note, would one of your entrepenureal prospects be a published retrospective of "Hope n' Change"? I have no idea how your other published efforts fared in the marketplace, but I'd buy a "HnC" book. Hope you and yours have a happy Labor Day.

To all the Ladies and Gentlemen of the H n'C community: IF,(that was a big if), our dear friend Dr. Jarlsberg decides to move on to other endeavors; would it be possible to keep on keepin' on with this blogspot; attract a little more revenue; and give all the proceeds to the Jarlsberg family? Not sure how all this new fangled technology works,; just wonderin'....Hope y'all have a wonderful 'Unemployed or on Welfare Can't afford to do Nuthin' Day Weekend' ;-)

@Readers- (And I hate to generalize like that because you're all individuals and friends). Let me share a few random thoughts, barely 24 hours into my "week off."

In some form or another, I'm going to be around. Here, or on Facebook, or Youtube, or maybe publishing ebooks. This is because I must create things, and I must comment on all of this mess from time to time or I'll pop. But when I'm maintaining a schedule and the muses aren't working with me, it gets to be hard - and I'm allocating my strength carefully these days.

Another point I'd like to make- some of you have said "why not a donation button?" or "hey, let's raise money for the Stiltster!" or "Damn it, we're the Koch Brothers - let's give him a couple million!"

Actually, if the Koch Brothers are having those thoughts, I encourage them to call me. But for the rest of you good folks, I'll let you know that I've never solicited donations or really monetized the site because A) I didn't want anyone to think that was my motivation, and B) as much as it would bug certain trolls, I've actually worked a long, long time, enjoyed reasonable success, and banked my money. So it's not immediate fiscal need which makes me want to do more work - but rather a desire to create a business which is pleasant to work on (making ME more pleasant to be around) and one which will generate ongoing, passive revenue for my family. Yes, I'm going to make a sex tape.

No, no! But I've got a laundry list of other things - FUN things - I could be doing. A couple of "Hope n' Change" Treasury books are on my todo list (not that they'll make me rich, but someday historians will say "why didn't anyone LISTEN?!"), some Johnny Optimism collections, and some other mischief I can't share yet.

But if money isn't an immediate worry, then why am I whining about Obamacare? Simple - under the new law, the healthcare available to me will be determined by my income not my assets, and the same is doubly true for my daughter, who has neither at the present time. That means she's likely to be shuffled into Medicaid, no doubt along with 21 million non-English speakers. And it means that even if I want to pay cash to decent doctors to treat her, it won't happen unless I'm willing to meet them in a back alley somewhere, when the services and transactions will be as shady as the drug deals Barry was raised on.

Still, if you're just desperate to float me an honorarium, feel free to buy either the print or ebook versions of "Who Cut The Cheese?" or "Obama Sutra." Why wait until December to buy your "secret santa" gifts for friends and enemies? Or you can just skip buying it and post an Amazon review saying that these are the greatest, funniest, most life-changing books ever. Don't worry, you won't be lying - they're that good.

I'm going to get back to chilling now, though I've practically had to be tied to a ship's mast to keep from doing a cartoon about Barry making a speech about "I'm going to war," then adding "maybe," and "if Congress wants to, but maybe even if they don't want to," and "maybe not today, or tomorow, or in a week, or in a month..." and after all of THAT, the motherhumper goes golfing?!

Sweet mother of pearl, I'm getting the vapors again. Time for a glass of cheap-ass Chardonnay.

Stilton,I think it would behoove you to stick to what you know, as you have with this blog. You've indicated that you aren't a particularly "religious" man, so in keeping with the contextual acumen and "spot-on" understanding of everything (which is embodied by Ted Brist), I think you should jettison the idea of making a "sects tape". I REALLY think it would be for the best.

What? This isn't a front for the Koch Brothers? Not possible. Nobody believes this kind of stuff and goes to the effort of posting it without being paid by right-wing billionaires.

Seriously, I've had people say basically that to me when posting non-conformist content elsewhere. It's an example of how honest conservative philosophy is alien to so many people, and why everyone here is so important to America. It's that it's done straight from the mind and the heart, and not just for money that makes this so much more powerful. Compare that to the crony left today, where so much of what supposedly liberals say isn't necessarily because people honestly believe it, but because that's where the dollars are. (Hollywood is a prime example)

This blog has come straight from Stilton's heart, which is partly why it's been so good.

My prayer for Stilton is that he soon finds a place in life where his problems can be addressed, and he can pursue his heart as well without any conflict between the two.

Since we have some time until our Fearless Leader (Stilt!) is back in the game...in AmericanThinker there is an intriguing column that really caught my attention yesterday...a strategy for opposing the progressives' strategy, actually, it IS partly their strategy, so why cannot the right jump on it? The column explains it better than I can...check it out if you'd like, fellow patriots...the writer calls it 'lawfare', a play on 'warfare'...here's the link.

By the way, how about Obama's ridiculous announcement yesterday concerning 'teaching Syria a lesson'?! The Amateur-in-chief strikes again, but this could be very bad, folks! Time for a round of golf!!!!

A ruptured appendix, 3 coronary artery stents, esophageal cancer, 2 cardiac arrests, a pulmonary embolism, MERSA, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, then... 8 years later... kidney cancer. I have no esophagus, one kidney, part of a bladder, a pacemaker, I've had radiation, chemo, and so many surgeries I look like a baseball. I am on 10 liters of pure O2 per minute 24/7.... and I am a happy, contented individual. If I can survive, anyone can. It was never up to me anyway.

Stilt, you are the first place I stop on M,W and F. I wonder if you realize how superior your cartoons and comments are to all of the rest that is out there. You're setting the standard. I can't think of one blog that compares.

I came upon Hope n' Change one day after becoming so frustrated about Prezzy Douchenozzle and His Obamacare that I asked myself, "WTF is it with this Hope and Change bullshit? Surely someone else must think this is a load of crap." A quick google, and there you were - and there I have been ever since. You are a lifeboat in a sea of insanity.

I'll Hope for a Change for the health problems. I've been there myself with two kids, so I, and I'm sure many others here know what you are up against.

I find it utterly appalling that "everyone" on the Left and in the Press (but I repeat myself) utterly trashed Pres Bush on not having an 'exit strategy' on Iraq, but Oh, Bummer the whirling crap weasel gets a pass, even though he doesn't even have an ENTRANCE strategy... What are we doing? What is the goal? What is the POINT?!?!? Whatever we do, People Will DIE!!! How many more innocent women and children must gasp their last just to succor this D-Bag's ego? WTF is WRONG w/ US???Gaaah!

DR Jazz whew doggies thanks for the reminder that it aint up to me. God bless ya.Code Pinko is rushing over to syria to make a human shield to protect target sites right now-- opps my bad I forgot that the (D) after his name makes this automatically a "good" and "just" war, conetic action, strike against the republican war on woman or someting. Fortunately the msm remembered and have shifted the blame to the republican congress.

I just read "conscience's" post. He/she/it claims to use HnC to "convert" people to liberalism but he/she/it never says how. Obviously, it's not people who THINK who get "converted". "Conscience" apparently only hangs around with people who "feel" that Stilt is being "mean" to poor old Barack Hussein. If that's the kind of people who "convert" to liberalism, I say good riddance! The rest of the human race didn't need you anyway!

I find it absolutely appalling that lamont voters like “conscience” find it necessary to try and correct those of us who “think before we blog”, (one might call it “safe typing”, I’ve got a con-dumb [sic] on each finger). Just how brillyunt [sic] is this jeenyus [sic]:apriciate (appreciate)nake (naked),ore (more)then (than)bulletin (bullet)I’m sure (I don’t know jack shit)It must be a right-wing conspiracy that his spell-check took a crap!Isn’t it interesting that those whose lip-balm smells like lamont’s hemorrhoid ointment are SOOO anxious to use the word “nigger” that they seem to do it assiduously and unjustifiably when referring to conservatives. Geee, maybe a Freudian slip isn’t just what he wore under those baggy pants!

@REM1875: There is still a bit-o Irish left in me from me ancestors. One Irish blessin' just did not seem like it was enough for our dear friend Stilt. Can never get/give too many of those,10-4? Hope you get a HUGE crop of floss this year!

David from soCalTis true, there is never such a thing as too many blessings. Drought in Texas has impacted dental floss ranching so stock up along with stocking up ammo especialy in Ca.Bruce bleuIf you are using a tab spell checque dont work too gud that is why I look like the ignorent hill-billy that I am and he looks like the unedumacated, intolerant liberal racist that he is.

Stilt, may God bless you, may God bless and sustain you and your family in this time and always, and many thanks for this brilliant blog. Along with Day By Day, you are a priceless and much needed resource. Thanks for the truth and humor. I hope you choose to continue this blog for all the reasons others have pointed out so eloquently, and I will be happy to follow you in anything you choose to do next. BTW, I like Chris Muir's use of crowdsourcing at Day By Day. I hope it's effective for him, I know I've been happy to have that voluntary format to contribute. Worth considering. Thanks again for all you do.

@All: Been trying to research if any or all of Ted Turners' holdings/corporations are exempt from the 'Unaffordable Control Tax'. Can somebody 'hep' me? These here new-fangled innernet machines are confusin' as all git-out fer me!Thanks, fellow Americans!

I think it was John Lennon who said, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans."

And sometimes life sucks. The important thing to remember is that God (I know, you are not generally a beliver, but I am) never gives us more burdens to carry than he gives us the strength to carry them with.

Please know you are in our prayers and try to enjoy the good things that do come your way. Prayers and best wishes ever, Graylady

@Readers- I'm still here, and still paying rapt attention to all the comments, well-wishes, and good ideas. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again. I'm still cogitating about the path forward. A potentially good thing happened today regarding my family situation, although it will need to play out a bit before I know how much it will or won't affect things.

I can't say that I'm exactly sorry about enjoying this time off during the Syria mess. It seems to me that we don't particularly have any good reason to jump into war, other than that our jackass of a president made his stupid "red line" remark, and so now America's credibility will be shot to hell unless we do something that we quite likely shouldn't do. And Obuttweed has skillfully maneuvered things to somehow put the Republicans on the spot for HIS monumental failings. Geez.

But enough of that for right now. I'm enjoying the conversations here, and will check back in soon!

Stilton Jarlsberg said...great names... obuttweed... jackass... (well, I guess that makes sense since he's hitched his wagon to a jill-humungo-ass), but with all doo [sic] respect, when I'm not using the moniker "lamont insane obama" I refer to him with the appellation, "the-person-applying-corporal-punishment-to-Curious-George in chief" which is the level of deference he so richly deserves.

Stilton said, "And Obuttweed has skillfully maneuvered things to somehow put the Republicans on the spot for HIS monumental failings. For once, I'm glad to take the "blame" because I see nothing but bad things happening should we lob some missiles into Syria; this is a lose lose situation. Yes, it is an extremely horrible place for innocents to be right now, but no matter who we side with, we are climbing in bed with the devil.

As far as obuttma blaming Republicans? I think this is a good thing, as I believe most Americans are opposed to getting involved in Syria. Obuttma isn't going to gain any ground with his namby-pamby base by saying, "I wanted to blow the shit out of Syria, but 'those guys' won't let me." Remember,,, he got votes for being the dove to McCain's hawk, and God forbid he should tarnish his Nobel Peace Prize.

@Stilton,We are still thinking about you and praying for you and your situation. And I will even admit to a selfish reason for doing so. I want to see you back posting on a regular basis! But.... take care, and please take all the time you need, even if that is forever. We would survive, albeit it would be a more grumpy survival!

I was gravely disappointed yesterday, hearing a few 'talkers' that I typically respect even if I disagree, being all gung-ho to missile Syria. I would seriously like to ask ANYONE considering supporting action there, "How many innocents need to die to 'punish' Assad for killing innocents?"I mean REALLY, people!Yeesh...

@Stilton: The Syria mess? I can't seem to differentiate it from any other portion of this quagmire of an administration. We go from imbroglio to imbroglio with these assholes. No wonder they're all in politics: they wouldn't last an instant in the real world. And it's a pitiful shame it has come to this: our "political class" being untalented, useless people who couldn't hold down a job in the private sector, but campaign well enough to gain control of what was once the greatest country on the planet. I say "w" because it has been decimated by the incessant, eroding waves of their inane policies and politics just as the waves of the ocean against a beach in Jersey wears it away.

I hope your glimmer of light becomes the dawning of a new day. We miss you out here on the 'net...

Just wanted to say I would support any decision you make regarding the future of this site. Let me be clear. You have a unique gift of concisely and accurately, with laser like focus, summing up any particular situation. Along with a thick layer of sarcasm I enjoy immensely.

About this whole Syria thing, well, thank God that we have Joe Biden, the foreign affairs expert on our side. Wasn't that the reason for him being picked as VP? I know I sleep better at night knowing these two muttonheads are in charge of our country. After all, there's nothing really to running the (formerly) most powerful nation on the planet. I mean any community organizer that's clean and articulate and a nitwit with a room temperature IQ could handle it, no? How hard can it be?

I read the "Conscience" comment before you deleted it and all I can say is that is the most despicable comment I've ever read or heard. That being said, I would suggest "Conscience" take his own advice.

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